The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Many towns stop short of full ban on trick-or-treating
Jeffrey Santo enjoys Halloween as much as anyone, but he wishes his city’s mayor would have outright banned trick-or-treating due to the threat of COVID-19.
Like many people, Santo is just looking for some clear direction. But like many circumstances involving COVID-19, there are a lot of gray areas.
Halloween is among them.
In Norwalk, where Santo lives, Mayor Harry Rilling announced this week that he was “strongly discouraging traditional Halloween activities, such as trick-or-treating, trunk-or-treating, indoor haunted houses, costume parties and social gatherings.”
For Santo, “strongly discouraging” doesn’t go
far enough.
“Everybody wants to get out of the house and have fun,” the 45-year-old lifelong Norwalk resident said. “But
until we’re out of the woods, it’s a very irresponsible thing to do.”
Though many communities are taking some sort of a stance on Halloween, none seem willing to completely ban trick-or-treating.
In Darien, First Selectman Jayme Stevenson also recommended for people not to trick-or-treat, after two more members of the town’s high school community tested positive for COVID-19 this week.
On Sunday, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton stated on his Facebook page that he was banning trick-or-treating in the city’s Deer Hill Avenue area. He clarified on his Twitter page that thousands of people frequent the area and there was “no way for social distancing.”
Elsewhere in Danbury, trick-ortreating will be allowed, but those who wish to participate “should use a bowl or box to place candy outside — avoiding face-to-face contact,” Boughton wrote on Facebook.
Bridgeport and New Haven are among other communities requesting people to pare back their Halloween festivities this year.
“We are not recommending trick-ortreating,” said Gage Frank, director of communications for New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker. “We are not recom
mending trunk-or-treating. We are encouraging people to stay home as much as they can.”
In Bridgeport, the feeling is similar. Earlier this month, the city sent out a message suggesting “safe” ways to celebrate the holiday, such as a candy scavenger hunt at home with family members, or one-way trick-or-treating, “where individually wrapped goodies are lined up for Grab & Go.”
Some holiday activities have been canceled altogether, including The Maritime Aquarium’s Halloween Stroll, which had been scheduled for Wednesday through Friday in Norwalk.
Considering the rise in cases, it’s understandable that communities want to set limits on Halloween celebrations, said Dr. Gregory Buller, chairman of medicine and chief medical officer at Bridgeport Hospital. But he doesn’t think trick-or-treating as a whole needs to be stopped or even discouraged.
“I think there’s a way to do it that’s safer than the usual way,” Buller said. “You just want to avoid direct contact with kids you don’t know as much as you can.”
To that end, he recommended that people buy big bags of individually wrapped candy, and fill sealed plastic baggies with the wrapped goodies. The bags should then be placed in a box or bowl outside the house. Buller said homeowners should wash or sanitize their hands frequently while prepping the treats, and possibly even wear a mask.
By doing that, he said, “you take a certain amount of risk away.”
Buller said he knows trick-or-treating is always at least a little risky, particularly if people are doing it in an area with a lot of foot traffic. That’s why he understands why some officials are dissuading people from doing it instead of outlining a lot of rules.
“The easier thing to do is say, ‘Don’t go out trick-or-treating’ and discourage it,” he said.
But Dr. Corina Marcu, associate vice president of medical affairs at St. Vincent’s Medical Center in Bridgeport, thinks communities steering people away from trick-or-treating have the right idea. She said trick-or-treating, since it’s often done outdoors, is safer than a party or other activities indoors.
“The risk is less, but remains higher than most people are comfortable with,” Marcu said.
Yet, despite discouragements from local government, Marcu said people will likely still trick-or-treat. But, she said, if they decide to go against the guidance, they should be as safe as possible.
“It is our hope that everyone will be mindful of social distancing and touching potential contaminated surfaces,” she said. “If it cannot be done in a safe way, our recommendation is to avoid going out all together.”